Punching up for Bernalillo: Amateur boxing card planned
May 1—Zimbalist "Zim" Satcher lives in far north Rio Rancho, so close to the Town of Bernalillo that he can almost reach out and touch it from his front yard.
But it's not just physical proximity but also spirit of community that has prompted Satcher to schedule an amateur boxing event at Bernalillo High School on June 15.
He's having a meet and greet/fundraiser on Saturday at Pop-Pop's Italian Ice, 6300 San Mateo NE, starting at noon.
Satcher staged his first amateur card last December at Able Strength Fitness in Rio Rancho. But as close as the gym is to his home, Bernalillo High is closer.
It feels closer, too.
"I literally live down the street," Satcher said during a recent interview outside Scooters Coffee in Bernalillo, where he's a regular customer. "... If I can do it here, make an impact for the people here, my actual community, and then have a partnership with the athletic directors where I could do this once or twice a year, make it a thing just for Bernalillo, I don't need to go anywhere else."
As a boxing coach, Satcher was a protégé of the late Joe Louis Murphy. After Murphy's death in November 2022, Satcher formed his own club, The Crow & The Cub.
Among his pupils is his son, Zimbalist Jr., who also competes in track and field (triple jump, 400 meters) for Cleveland High School.
Zim Jr. used to play basketball — his dad played at Albuquerque High — but discovered he preferred track and boxing.
"I love them because they're the two sports you don't play," he said. "You have to invest your all into them."
The Crow & The Cub management team includes Rio Ranchoan Kymberli Romero, who lends organizational skills, and Albuquerque's Paul Satcher, Zim Sr.'s younger brother, who's in charge of security.
Anais Maya, a manager at Scooter's, is part of the team as well.
BRAWL ON THE BOSQUE: Only a handful of tickets remain ($30 and up, prekindle.com) for Saturday's annual boxing card matching law enforcement vs. firefighters for charity, event organizer Stephanie Jaramillo said.
The show at Revel Entertainment Center is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Doors are scheduled to open at 6.
Proceeds are earmarked for Ten-82, an organization founded in 2018 by the Rio Rancho Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's office to help fellow public servants in times of hardship due to illness or injury.
FIGHTWORLD, TOO: The New Mexico Athletic Commission's big news on Tuesday was its approval of an Aug. 10 International Boxing Federation featherweight world title fight between Albuquerque native Angelo Leo and Mexican champion Luis Alberto Lopez at Tingley Coliseum.
But earlier in Tuesday's meeting the NMAC approved two FightWorld MMA events, both scheduled for Revel: Aug. 24 and Nov. 23.
The FightWorld franchise, headed by FIT-NHB's Tom Vaughn, Arlene Sanchez Vaughn and Jonathan Judy, has been instrumental in giving New Mexico MMA fighters opportunities to further their careers.
FightWorld staged three cards at Revel in 2023 and one thus far in 2024. The organization also promotes in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
